Essential Reading

by
David Downie

TRAVEL NARRATIVE

2014

PAPER

372 PAGES

David Downie's spirited book is haunted by the Gallo-Roman forebears of modern France. On ancient trails through the forests of the rugged Morvan, they continued across the celebrated wine country of Burgundy and the centuries-old Via Podiensis on the Way of Saint James. (FRA41, $16.95)

by
Robert Speaight
|
Francis Pagan

GUIDEBOOK

2000

PAPER

385 PAGES

A personable district-by-district guide to Burgundy, this intelligent (and very British) book interweaves maps, some illustrations and plenty of opinionated detail regarding local geography, history and culture. (FRN73, $34.95)

by
David Downie

by
Waverly Root

FOOD

1992

PAPER

450 PAGES

An evocative and beautifully written survey of French food. First published in 1958 and revised in the mid-1970s, the book covers the important regions of French cuisine by dividing them into domains of Butter (northern France), Fat (Alsace) and Oil (the south). (FRN17, $18.00)

by
Edwin Mullins

RELIGION

2008

PAPER

256 PAGES

Mullins (The Pilgrimage to Santiago) deftly explores the architecture, monks and abbots, long history and lasting influence of Cluny, a Benedictine monastery in Burgundy and the hub of one of the most powerful empires of the Middle Ages. (FRN924, $14.95)

by
Ina Caro

HISTORY

1996

PAPER

339 PAGES

BEST SELLER

Time travel through France by way of its finest castles, chateaux, cathedrals and monasteries. This unusual travelogue is an invaluable companion for traveling in Paris, southern France, the Dordogne and the Loire Valley, combining personal observation with large doses of well-presented history. (FRN03, $17.00)

by
Norman Davies

HISTORY

2012

PAPER

720 PAGES

In this marvelous tale of lost civilizations and the shifting fate of nations, historian Davies presents the stories of 14 now all-but-forgotten European states, including Aragon, Etruria and the Two Burgundies. Not just an intriguing look at history, these tales will also incite wanderlust. (EUR404, $25.00)

by
Donald Kladstrup

HISTORY

2002

PAPER

304 PAGES

This thrilling account of how the vintners of France saved their crops -- and their bottles -- as the Nazis approached, focuses on the activities of five winemaking families in Burgundy, Alsace, Champagne, Bordeaux and the Loire Valley. (FRN874, $15.00)

by
Kermit Lynch

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR

1990

PAPER

271 PAGES

A delightful and warmly anecdotal book highly recommended for anyone touring the wine regions of France. Lynch brings the domains and appellations of French wine to full-blown life and his portraits of the grand personalities who make the wine are priceless. (FRN72, $19.00)

by
Raymond Blake

TRAVEL NARRATIVE

2014

HARD COVER

272 PAGES

Irish wine writer Raymond Blake is obsessed with the Pinot Noir grape and follows his fancy to Burgundy, France. This fun and fancy free travel narrative finds Blake and his wife purchasing a house in the region, then emptying their wallets in a search for the perfect glass. (FRA177, $22.95)

by
Ray Walker

TRAVEL NARRATIVE

2014

PAPER

320 PAGES

Along with his struggle to capture his wine's distinct terroir, Ray shares enthralling stories of late-night tastings, flying down the Route National on a vintage Peugeot bicycle with no brakes and his journey to secure both the trust of his insular Burgundian neighbors and the region's most coveted grapes. (FRA53, $17.00)

by
Peter Lewis

MYSTERY

2010

PAPER

274 PAGES

Sommelier and Napa Valley bar keep Babe Stern journeys from California to Burgundy, visiting cellars and tasting rooms from Beaune to Nuits-Saint-Georges in search of clues as to who may have killed prominent wine critic Richard Wilson, found dead in a vat of (very good) Cabernet Sauvignon. (FRA42, $14.95)

by
Hella Haasse

LITERATURE

1991

PAPER

594 PAGES

With a cast of thousands including Joan of Arc and the Dukes of Burgundy, this 1949 historical novel renders the political intrigue, people and texture of 15th-century Europe and of medieval court life during the Hundred Years War. (FRN86, $21.95)

by
Robert Harrison

LITERATURE

2012

PAPER

192 PAGES

The medieval French epic poem recalling the gory battle which took place in 778 (as Charlemagne's rear guard was ambushed by Saracens) this text offers important insights into Christian attitudes toward Muslims in medieval European history. Translated by Robert Harrison. (SPN271, $7.95)

by
Christy Campbell

SCIENCE

2006

PAPER

314 PAGES

In this witty book Campbell interweaves a dramatic tale of the devastation of vineyards in 1860's France with French cultural history and a tale of the mad scramble by scientists (along with witches, priests and mystics) to discover the cause and cure. The French were none too pleased that salvation (as well as the disease) came in the form of American root stock. (FRN497, $14.95)

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